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Padgett Place units earn on AirBnB

MORE people, like Ateneo Graduate School of Business (AGBS) graduate Waylon Florido, are using online platforms as an avenue to generate secondary income streams.

“I’m a happy investor. This is an online platform, a sharing economy,” he said during a recent economic forum.

Florido was one of the first to own a unit at The Padgett Place Condominium, a residential development along Molave St., Cebu City.

He was also one of the first investors who put his condominium unit in Padgett Place on online community marketplace AirBnB, which allows hosts willing to rent out residential spaces to connect with travelers around the world who are looking for more affordable and more home-like accommodations.

Florido said that since he started to rent out his unit on AirBnB in September 2015, he has recovered 8 percent of his investments.

“Since September, I’ve been booked. I’ve gotten bookings at an average of 20 nights a month,” he said. Florido started with an introductory rate of 2,400 a night.

Lydwena Eco, business development manager of DurosLand Properties, Inc., said many of the owned units at the Padgett Place have been listed on AirBnB.

“For AirBnB, you have two options. Either you do as Waylon did and operate AirBnB on your own as a unit owner, or if you’re an investor or a buyer who doesn’t have the time or capability to run it on your own, then we can run it for you,” Eco said.

Unit owners can dictate their own rates. Padgett Place charges a 12 percent management fee for running the AirBnB units for the owners.

“Waylon said it very well. People in the tourism and BPO sectors need temporary housing that might not be at hotels. There’s a market,” Eco added.

Based on data from the company in the last four months, unit owners can expect a 6 to 8 percent return of investment annually.

“In the last four months, from late October to early February, we experienced 90 to 100 percent occupancy rate because our entry into AirBnB coincided with the peak months of Cebu,” Eco said.

Eco cited big events, such as the 51st International Eucharistic Congress and the Sinulog Festival 2016 as the main drivers for the occupancy.

“Since starting, it’s been very good. It’a a lucrative market, and it’s still very big,” she added.